


Lonely Birthday

by Rhoey



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Other, Platonic Female/Male Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 15:10:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5168456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhoey/pseuds/Rhoey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Vincent's birthday, and Aerith decides to do something nice for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lonely Birthday

It was a cold October evening, and it rained that night. October has always been that grim; chilly and dark, much like within this lonely man's heart. 

He sat by the window and watched the falling leaves from behind a thin barrier of glass. One by one, they danced in the wind, in tints of copper and gold, crimson and bronze. How many times had he not seen the same scene repeat itself before his eyes? So many seasons, they all passed him by at least fifty times by now. But he'd lost count so long ago; to him, they all looked the same.

Vincent's crimson eyes surveyed the scenery outside, and watched on as the wind scattered leaves all around. His gaze followed one leaf after another indifferently, as they got lost among thousands of others. 

"What date is it today?" a soft voice from behind broke into his thoughts. He did not turn around, and no need to, either: he easily recognized Aerith's voice. She looked around at everybody else in this room, apparently waiting for a response.

"Oh, uh," Barret mumbled, "...It's the – uh – thirteenth."

She thanked him and smiled, admitting in good-humor, "I can't seem to keep track of it these days." As she placed a hand against her chin, eyes narrowed in contemplation, she mused aloud, "The thirteenth, huh? October thirteenth...it's like there was something special about this day..."

It then occurred to her what it was that she'd almost forgotten. "Ah!"

Her sudden cry caught everyone's attention, including Vincent's. Quizzical glances were exchanged, but Aerith turned her back to her comrades, and rushed out of the room, absorbed in her own thoughts.

"What's gotten into her all of a sudden?" Cid asked somewhat puzzled while he smoked on his cigarette casually. 

"I dunno. Mebbe she 'membered sumthin'?" Barret guessed.

Cid scratched the back of his head awkwardly with his free hand. "Yeah, looks like it. I also feel like today's some kinda day I should remember...but I keep forgettin' shit."

Vincent soon lost interest in the conversation between the two; discussing what date it was bore no significance to him whatsoever. Not surprisingly, his gaze soon returned to the window. His mind strayed off to a particular memory. He recalled the very same group sitting around a bonfire in Cosmo Canyon at one time. Their muffled voices seemed to grow sharper, until he recalled every word of the conversation as though it had been only yesterday: – 

"When is your birthday, Yuffie?" 

Vincent turned his head, only to spot Aerith standing some distance away with both arms behind her back, her attention on Yuffie. Vincent certainly found that question a very random thing to ask; she blurted it out of nowhere, if only to insert some cheer into their otherwise gloomy conversations about a dying planet and a homicidal madman at large.

"Huh?" Yuffie glanced at Aerith, also surprised by the unexpected inquiry.

"When's your birthday?" she repeated, still retaining the same kind tone as before.

"November twentieth!"

Aeris smiled. "Hey, that's quite soon! Only...three months until then?" She then addressed Cid, "What about yours, Captain?"

"February," he replied.

"Really? Mine is in February too! What date?" she asked with increasing curiosity.

"The twenty-second."

It didn't take long till Vincent felt a familiar pair of green eyes lingering on the back of his head, and he felt the presence of another person nearby. Indeed, he saw Aerith standing in front of him, smiling down at him in her usual manner. Her eyes seemed beseeching, searching for something as she gazed into his. It then occurred to him that he was next.

She leaned closer to whisper playfully, "And what about you, Mr. Valentine?"

'If I told her...what difference would it make?' he thought to himself gloomily.

Aerith, however, persisted and obviously expected a response.

"It's on the thirteenth of October," he forced out hoarsely, keeping his voice low.

"I see," she acknowledged smilingly, "I'll try not to forget."

'You probably will,' Vincent brooded internally. Not that it mattered anyway; not like anybody remembered his birthdays. But that was fine; being what he was, he'd gotten accustomed to it. To be sure, he barely gave his own birthdays much thought. All they ever brought upon him was the terrible reminder of his loneliness. They only added yet another year to his already old age disguised so well behind this mask of some pathetic young man who never seemed to change. Though, worst of all – every time, they added another year between him...and that one woman he had loved and treasured so much. The one he had failed to save, and then lost forever.

However, Vincent decided it was best to ignore all of these thoughts and memories pecking at his brain, and his mind gloomily returned to the present, and to the autumn leaves once more.

When night finally descended upon Nibelheim, the group retreated to their rooms in the gloomy Shinra Mansion. Vincent heard a soft knock on his door. At first, he thought he had imagined it, but then another one echoed through the room to disprove his assumption. He would have left it up to Cid to answer the door, but the man was fast asleep with a loud snore, thus Vincent decided to see who the visitor was at such a late hour.

He opened the door only slightly, but enough to see a lovely pair of green eyes beaming kindness at him. Surprised, Vincent was at a loss for words, but opened further, if only to see her face more distinctly.

"Aerith," he confirmed.

"Hello," she greeted, still grinning. 

Thinking he should say something, he ran his fingers through his long hair in confusion, but came up empty.

"I just thought I'd show you something." 

"'Show me something'?" Vincent echoed, quite puzzled.

She nodded, and added quickly, "Can I come in?"

After another moment's hesitation, the man finally decided to admit Aerith into the room, and shut the door behind her.

The lights had been dimmed greatly, but her eyes soon adjusted to what little light the room possessed. There stood two beds separated by a small night table. She saw Cid snoring away on one of them, still wearing his clothes and lay on top of the covers, with some magazine still clutched loosely in one hand.

"I don't mean to intrude," she said, once her attention returned to Vincent, "I just wanted to see you because there's something I'd like to give you."

He searched her green eyes for an explanation. In return, she smiled at him and added playfully, "But I'll only give it to you if you close your eyes first; otherwise it's not really a surprise!"

Vincent was none too fond of the idea of a 'surprise'. Nevertheless, he complied and closed his eyes as he had been told, albeit reluctantly. He was relieved when she told him to open his eyes ten seconds later.

In front of him, Aerith held something up for him to see. It looked like a flower made of brown leather strung up on a brass key ring. Small, round buttons of yellow metal made a circle shape in the middle of the flower. 

"Happy Birthday!" she announced, but kept her voice down.

"A key chain," Vincent noted as he studied the object in her hand. He looked at Aerith, unsure what to say, appearing rather confused. 

"It's not a regular key chain," she explained softly. "A while ago, you said you have nightmares. So, I infused it with magic; I cast a Shield and an Esuna spell on it."

Vincent accepted the gift from her; he held it in his right hand, examining it, until his gaze returned to Aerith. The latter concluded, "It will repel nightmares when you wear it or put it under your pillow before you go to sleep. I spent most of the day just trying to figure out how to assemble this, which is why I came over to disturb you at such a late hour. I hope it'll do."

Somehow, her words – this gift – everything – had struck a sensitive chord in this man's heart; for a moment, he didn't quite believe his ears. Why? Why would Aerith, of all people, even care for something as insignificant as his birthday? And why even bother spending her time making him a gift? There had to be some kind of hidden motive, perhaps? But no; this was Aerith, after all. Her kindness just never ceased to amaze him, and it warmed his heart to the very core.

He was at a loss for words and accepted the gift with a polite nod, which seemed to please her immensely.

"Well, then, I'll be on my way. Have a good night, Vincent." Aerith still smiled back at him, now on her way to the door. Her hand paused on the knob when a voice from behind called out her name, and she turned around fully to meet his eyes once again.

"Thank you," Vincent said with sincere gratitude in his voice. Aerith beamed at him with delight, and slipped out of the room quietly, closing the door behind her.

Vincent, now alone in the room, meditated upon Aerith's words and thoughtfulness, but most of all, the significance of her gift. He clutched it tighter in his hand, and placed it under his pillow as instructed before lying down on his bed, and switched the light off.

He lay awake for a while and he granted himself a small but happy smile. Perhaps not all birthdays are so lonely and bad, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in 2007, and edited it recently, and posting it here because I still like the story.


End file.
